CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: TRULY SHAMELESS

Why say sorry...

This silly man.

Clearly he was so fierce earlier.

Ye Manman had no doubt that if he really wanted to beat someone to death, he probably wouldn’t even blink.

"Hahaha, comrade, you’re worried this matter will affect your wife’s reputation, right?"

Looking at the couple’s intimate demeanor, the man took a drag from his cigarette and burst into laughter.

"You can rest assured, comrade. We’re not that foolish in our work; we definitely will commend you for your bravery without exposing the real situation, which won’t affect your wife’s reputation at all."

He Chen seemed about to refuse, but the man waved his hand.

"Comrade, don’t think everyone is that bad. If you’re really worried about exposing your address, just give me a name. When you have time, go to the town’s office and report my name, Liu Tianhu, and you can collect the certificate yourself. How about it?"

He had gone this far; if He Chen still refused, it wouldn’t be good.

So, He Chen told Officer Liu his name, watched as Officer Liu and the group left together, and then turned to pick up the clothes that had fallen to the ground.

The clothes were dirty, covered in mud, and the bicycle was also covered in mud.

He Chen didn’t want Ye Manman to sit on such a dirty bike, so he took off his jacket, kicked the big stones blocking the road to the side, carefully wiped the bicycle clean, and then sat back on it.

"Alright, I’ve cleaned it up. Let’s go home."

He swung his long leg over, sitting shirtless on the bike, boldly showcasing his wild strength.

The muscles, previously felt through his shirt, were now clearly displayed in front of Ye Manman.

She blushed uncontrollably.

She went to the front basket and picked up a shirt that was fairly clean, awkwardly saying,

"Put your clothes on, don’t be shameless, going bare-chested."

Saying that, she turned her face away, not wanting to look at him.

Actually, she was secretly calming her racing heartbeat.

He Chen paused, and belatedly his face turned a bit red too, quickly putting his clothes back on.

After dressing, he embarrassedly rubbed his head.

"Sorry, I got muddled."

He had just been in a fight, with all big and bold moves, a bit sweaty, it naturally felt more comfortable to take off his clothes.

And although he controlled his expression well, his adrenaline was still high inside, keeping his mind intensely focused; because the temperature was just right, he forgot all about the clothes.

Yeah, he’d bought a few new sets of clothes, why had he forgotten to wear them just now...

Really silly.

He Chen slapped his forehead again, cautiously glancing at Ye Manman, worried she thought he was being indecent.

Luckily, Ye Manman didn’t seem to mind, and quickly sat on the back seat.

"Alright, let’s hurry home; it’s nearly dark and hard to see the road."

He Chen murmured in agreement, waited for her to sit steadily, pedaled, and set off again.

Though the sky was very late, fortunately, nothing happened afterward, and they returned safely to the village.

At this hour, everyone was chatting and cooling off at the village entrance after dinner.

When He Chen rode back on the bike, a big group of people saw them, and because there were more women chatting outside at this moment, the discussions were somewhat loud.

The village roads were not very smooth, and with the darkening sky, He Chen rode quite slowly, allowing Ye Manman to hear quite a bit of the gossip from those aunts.

Some said she was lucky, marrying He Chen and didn’t have to work, and got to wear new clothes; He Chen really spoiled his wife.

Some said He Chen was not worth it, having just kicked out one parasite and brought in a new one who didn’t do any work and just waited for He Chen to support her, surely they’d divorce sooner or later.

Some suspected they went to the town secretly to make money, seeing the two of them in new clothes, surely they made big money, striking it rich.

...

All sorts of rumors, suspicions, and sour remarks, Ye Manman listened and felt it was boring; she couldn’t understand why these people were so keen on discussing other people’s family affairs.

Li Hongmei watched as He Chen took Ye Manman past, feeling both jealous and regretful.

No one was talking to her now, disliking that her husband had been to jail, and her family were thieves; plus, the way they treated He Chen, people found it too unkind and didn’t like her.

She could only smile daily and join the crowd, occasionally chime in to find her presence.

Usually, He Chen wouldn’t return from outside at this hour, and he never bought new clothes for so long, yet today the two were both wearing new clothes, with smiles on their faces.

Li Hongmei couldn’t help but believe what these people were saying, they must have gone to town and made big money, otherwise, He Chen, who’s so frugal, wouldn’t buy such obviously high-quality but impractical clothes.

They must have so much money they had no place to spend, thus starting to care about appearances.

Li Hongmei got increasingly excited, no longer wanting to hang around the village entrance pretending to smile.

She directly ran home, excitedly asking her own Tiejun.

"Son, do you want to live a good life?"

"Do you want to buy new clothes?"

"Do you want to go to town every day and eat well?"

Li Hongmei was extremely thrilled, deciding to apologize to He Chen.

She believed as long as she showed willingness to yield, taking the family to apologize and be careful, considering He Chen’s good nature, he would surely soften.

Anyway, Li Hongmei understood it well; just treat Ye Manman a bit better, coax her, and He Chen would definitely forgive them, bring them back in.

Besides, since they’ve made big money, surely they wouldn’t mind having a few more people in the house.

Li Hongmei’s fantasies were so wonderful, even her expression seemed to float.

Liu Tiejun had been helping with chores at home, complaining endlessly, with not much to eat every day, losing a lot of weight.

Hearing Li Hongmei ask this, he naturally nodded repeatedly.

"I want to! Really want to! Mom, what’s your plan?"

Li Hongmei watched Liu Tiejun and felt a pang of heartache.

"I can’t think of anything, your dad is useless, working all day but earning barely any credits; if we want a better life, we have to go find your cousin."

"Let’s apologize to your cousin, be careful, ensure you won’t have any sinister thoughts about your cousin’s wife, treat them better, he will forgive us; He Chen has been kind-hearted since young."

Liu Tiejun was somewhat skeptical.

"Really? Last time cousin looked like he wanted to kick me to death, I still get scared thinking about it."

"Moreover, didn’t he have the captain call the police to have dad arrested? Dad spent half a month in jail and he didn’t even visit once."

Having gone through this tough time, Liu Tiejun understood a lot more than before, but he still harbored resentment against He Chen, even some hatred.

Li Hongmei slapped his head.

"You fool, it’s not about sincerely treating them well, just put on a show."

"Let me tell you, today I saw them ride a bicycle to town, both in new clothes, their style clearly the latest, with great fabric, obviously expensive; they surely went to town to make big money."

"If we can make He Chen relent, move back, isn’t it the same: buy new clothes, and maybe even go to the public restaurant often; don’t you want to live a better life?"